Cinnamon Bundt Cake with Gooey Cinnamon Swirl

This cinnamon bundt cake is fluffy, moist, buttery, and has a gooey cinnamon swirl in the middle. It's topped with a cream cheese glaze. It's like a cinnamon roll in bundt form! The cinnamon bundt cake is moist and fluffy from the sour cream, and mixture of butter and oil. The butter gives it all that delicious buttery flavour and the oil keeps it moist and fluffy for days. The perfect easy fall bundt cake.

The cinnamon swirl looks so impressive but actually couldn't be any easier to make! It's just brown sugar and cinnamon, layered into the bundt pan with the batter. Put down a half of the batter, sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on, and then the rest of the batter. Don't worry it won't make the cake too sweet. The brown sugar and cinnamon create the perfect gooey cinnamon ribbon.

For the glaze you just want to beat the butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and add enough milk to get it to the right consistency that you want. I opted for a thick glaze so I added more milk but you can spread it on as thicker frosting as well - just add less milk!

Plate with slices of cinnamon bundt cake

FAQ

Why did my batter split when I added eggs?

Sometimes when you add too many eggs to too little butter, the mixture can split and look all lumpy. Don't worry it will come together when you add the flour. Have all your ingredients at room temperature to prevent this from happening.

Why did my bundt cake sink and is dense?

The initial step of creaming the butter, oil, and sugar together helps give the bundt cake lift so you don't want to skip this step. Make sure your baking powder isn't expired. Do not overmix the batter once you add flour - stop mixing as soon as you stop seeing ribbons of dry flour. Lastly, you want to stop baking once a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Try not to under or overbake.

Why is it important to properly measure the flour?

Flour is one of the only ingredients that is difficult to measure properly. You want to weigh it to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.

How do I make sure my bundt cake doesn’t get stuck to the pan?

First off, start with a non-stick bundt pan. If it’s an older pan that has been used frequently, you may need to replace it because the non-stick coating comes off with time. Use a piece of cold butter to grease the sides and bottom of the pan very well. You can use vegetable oil or shortening instead. Then add a tablespoon of flour into the pan and shake the pan around so it sticks to the butter. Shake out any excess flour.

Key ingredients

Full ingredients and recipe are in the recipe card below. Read through this section for all the ingredients substitution and baking tips!

Butter: Use a good quality real butter for the best results. It needs to be softened for both the cake batter and glaze. Let it sit at room temperature for about an hour to soften.

Vegetable oil: This will make the cake super soft and moist. You can use vegetable oil, light olive oil, grapeseed oil, canola oil, or any other mild tasting oil.

Brown + granulated sugar: This recipe calls for both brown and granulated sugar. You can replace the granulated sugar for brown if you want a deeper flavour. I would not replace the brown sugar for granulated sugar. The brown sugar is key to create a gooey cinnamon ribbon right through the bundt cake.

Large eggs: Use room temperature eggs so that they easily incorporate into the batter making it smooth and light. To bring them to room temperature quickly, place them in a bowl of warm water for five minutes. Dry them with a paper towel and you have ready to use room temperature eggs!

Sour cream: Use a regular sour cream (not low fat) for the best results and flavour. You want it to be room temperature to incorporate smoothly.

All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.

Baking powder: Make sure your baking powder isn’t expired or your bundt cake might end up very dense. Do not use baking soda instead, it works completely differently!

Ground cinnamon: Ground cinnamon goes into the cake batter and the ribbon of cinnamon throughout the middle. You can also replace the cinnamon with apple pie spice or pumpkin spice for a twist.

Milk: Use whole or skim milk in this recipe. Some goes into the batter and you will need a bit to thin out the cream cheese glaze.

Cream cheese: Use a full fat cream cheese for best results and flavour. Low fat cream cheese is too watery and isn’t as creamy.

Icing sugar: (aka powdered sugar) Don’t forget to sift it to get a smooth glaze.

The swirl

Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Mix well and set aside.

The batter

Preheat oven to 355°F (180°C). Grease the bundt pan with a tablespoon of cold butter (or oil) and shake a tablespoon of flour all around to coat evenly. Shake out any excess flour.
In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream the butter, oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt until light and fluffy for a few minutes.
Add vanilla extract and (room temperature!) eggs one at a time, beating well in between each addition. It’s ok if the batter separates towards the end. It will come together when the flour is added.
Add sour cream, and beat until combined.
Sift flour, baking powder, and cinnamon into the batter. Fold with a whisk just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Add milk halfway through folding. It is ok if the batter is a little lumpy.
Scoop half the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Smooth the top. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly on top. Scoop the remaining batter over and spread smooth.
Bake in the preheated oven for 55-70 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cinnamon bundt cake out of the oven and let cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Place cooling rack or plate over top of the bundt cake and flip the cake. Gently tap the bundt pan to release the cake. Carefully lift off the pan to reveal the cake. Let cool completely. Prepare the glaze while it cools.

beaten butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy

The glaze

Combine cream cheese, butter, icing sugar, and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat until very light and fluffy - about 2 minutes.
Add vanilla and gradually add the milk until you get the consistency you desire.
Pour the glaze over the cake and let set for 10 minutes.
Slice and serve the bundt cake while still slightly warm or at room temperature.

The glazed cinnamon bundt cake on cake plate

Check out my other cozy desserts:

Happy baking! xx

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